agit 883

Agit 883 56 51 — commonly shortened to Agit 883 — was a leftist semi-underground newspaper/magazine based in West Berlin. A total of 88 issues were published between February 1969 and February 1972. In appearance, Agit 883 was a chaotic representation of its times; crudely drawn cartoons, hand-lettered headlines; articles set in typewritten text.

Originally Agit 883 was fairly overtly Marxist in orientation. By the end of it’s run it could me more classified as Anarchist and anti-Leninist.

Perhaps the most notable edition of Agit 883 in relationship to the Baader-Meinhof era was issue 62, dated June 5, 1970. A full page article, written by Ulrike Meinhof and submitted anonymously to Agit 883 was printed alongside a note from the editors encouraging readers to react and respond to the article through letters to the editor. The article, entitled “Build up the Red Army” was the first true communique of the nascent, and still unnamed “Red Army Faction.” By the time the article appeared, Meinhof, Andreas Baader, Horst Mahler, and about 10 others had already made their way to a Palestinian training camp in the Jordan desert.